Hot and Cold
by Blue Lone Wolf
Summary: I'm on my knee's looking for the answer... "Close your eye's, clear your mind." My hands are cold, but my smile is warm. Chie x Aoi with a twist. A story of pain, regret and guilt. Can love conquer them all?
1. Simple love

Hello all, Bluey here.

Got some good news and bad news. Starting with the bad news...  
Not feeling too well. I've got a massive case of writer's block.  
I'm trying my best on the third chapter of 'The Girl Next Door' however it's not coming along well.  
Anyone got any advice to help me along here? I'm not dealing with the block very well.

As for the good news...  
My girlfriend is back and now living under the same roof as me.  
Which puts me in a good mood, and hopefully with her help we'll be able to battle this writers block together.

Disclaimer: Don't own Mai-HiME. Wouldn't want to anyways, so there! (Sticks tongue out) Too much hassle for a lazy girl like me.

* * *

**Hot and Cold**

"Babe, you're hot. And I'm cold." The bespectacled girl gave Aoi a lopsided grin. "We're opposites. We have nothing in common. But I'd like to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me?"

"C-chie... we... you... No… I-I mean I need to think about it." A small part of Chie's mind was expecting this answer. What she was not expecting, was for it to hurt so badly.

Aoi cast Chie an apologetic look and picked up her bag before fleeing. _A minute ago Aoi was having the time of her life with her one and only. This was their last night together before Aoi would leave for Fashion week at Paris. She was a model working for Natsuki Kuga - A famous designer. Chie was an ex-street photographer, now a professional photographer who majored in fashion after having met Aoi 2 years ago._

"Wait, Aoi. Don't... go." Chie dropped her extended hand.

Aoi stumbled out into the cold abandoned street, dressed in only a skimpy lace mini-dress and heels. She pulled out her mobile phone and called the first person on her speed dial.

"Mai. I need you right now. I think I've messed everything up really badly now. Please come and pick me up. It's cold... and I miss her already." Aoi's voice started to crumble, holding back the tears was becoming more and more difficult for her.

"What? What happened Aoi? You're not making any sense."

"Chie-oh-chie. My Chie. My one and only love proposed to me and I just ran away from her like the fucking coward that I am... She'll never want to even look at me anymore. I'm disgusting Mai. Why do people even like me? I don't even deserve to exist." Wailed Aoi.

"Oh Aoi, what have you done? We'll talk more about this later. Stay put. Where are you?"

--

Chie promised herself that she wouldn't cry. But as the minutes passed, it seemed to get more and more difficult.

_Chie was a simple person.  
She loved Aoi more than anything in the world.  
Nothing in this would compare to Aoi._

_Before she met Aoi, she was a free soul. Nothing in this world could tie her down. She was flying sky high on her own. And she was more than happy. Well, that was what she thought._

Chie quickly wiped her eyes before the tears started to spill. She was currently seated alone in a VIP booth of a club. In front of her was a bottle of whiskey and a glass. She hated the stuff, but it was the only way she could ease her pain.

Pouring out a small shot, a small lithe figure slid into the small booth.

"Chie-kun, don't do this to yourself. Go home. Get some rest." Said Nao in a soothing voice. _She found out everything that had happened, Mai had informed her. Nao was equally both Aoi's and Chie's friend. Deciding that Chie needed someone to look after her, Nao came looking for her friend. Meanwhile Mai calmed Aoi down before their trip to France. Nao was a model for Natsuki's clothing line, she too was planning on going to France with her friends. But after a phone call from Mai and a phone call to Natsuki, all her plans were cancelled for the time being. Right now, her friend Chie needed someone to talk to._

Nao hesitantly picked up the bottle of whiskey and moved it away from Chie. She saw Chie's hand tremble and thought maybe it was a bad idea to take away the bottle from Chie. Maybe all Chie needed was one little sip to ease the pain of her heart breaking.

Chie looked up at Nao, her face fell immediately. A small part of her wanted it to be Aoi who came. Even after all that had happened, Chie wanted to see Aoi one last time.

Nao caught the look on Chie's face and she suddenly felt cold. Knowing that Chie was in a vulnerable position, she dismissed that feeling of being rejected. Nao moved closer to Chie and stretched her arms open for her friend.

"Talk to me Chie. Don't bottle it all up."

Chie took one look at Nao with her arms wide open and moved closer to Nao, until she was hugging the redhead. She didn't hold herself back this time, she didn't hold back the tears that poured out of her eyes.

"She doesn't love me as much as I love her. I've always known that."

"She loves you Chie, very much. I've never seen her so in love before." Nao stroked Chie's dark hair. Her own tears were threatening to come out soon, she hated seeing Chie like this. A free spirit was now all broken up.

"I shouldn't have proposed to her Nao, even though I was ready I knew she wasn't ready. I've lost her." Chie mumbled into Nao's soaked blouse.

"She didn't reject you. She just needs time. You know how Aoi gets when she's put on the spot."

"No. Things are over between us now. It'll never work out." Chie released her hold on Nao and sunk down until her head was resting Nao's lap. Nao ran her hand over Chie's pale forehead and she brushed Chie's bangs out of her eyes and leaned down. Nao briefly kissed Chie's forehead and whispered a small promise into the photographer's ears.

"Don't say that. Things will hopefully work out for you. No matter what happens, I'll always be by your side. I promise."

Chie smiled weakily, she pulled Nao's hand into her own and kissed her palm. Nao blushed hard when Chie's soft lips met the inside of her hand. "Hey Nao, can we stay like this for a little while? I'm just gonna rest my eyes for a little bit. Don't leave..." Chie twisted around on Nao until she felt comfortable resting her head beside Nao's stomach whilst hugging the redhead's waist.

Nao wriggled a little underneath Chie. Her face looked like it had just been dipped into pink paint.  
Holding her breath Nao glanced down at Chie. The tomboy looked so cute and innocent when she was asleep. Nao had to resist the temptation to sweep down and kiss that little pink nose that had been sniffling all this time.

Nao traced her fingers down Chie's handsome face affectionately; her hands paused when they came into contact with Chie's square-rimmed spectacles. She pulled them off and placed them on the table in front of her.

"Sleep well Chie. I..." Nao painfully closed her eyes. A wet tear rolled down her cheek.

--

Akane buttoned up the last buttons on Aoi's coat. The moment she completed dressing Aoi she shoved the pretty brunette down the aisle. Aoi stared straight out ahead, a thousand flashs went off, a single flash alone was enough to blind anyone. But Aoi had been trained to avoid being put off by the flashs. She rested one arm on her right hip and let her other arm swing as she strutted down the catwalk. As she reached the end of the catwalk she got into an elegant pose, the photographer that was at the end of the catwalk was disappointingly not Chie. The pose wasn't special like her previous ones for Chie had been. Aoi twirled her body around and walked back down the catwalk again.

Standing at the start of the runway was Shizuru Fujino getting ready to strut her stuff. Just as Aoi disappeared off the runway Shizuru strutted on, as another thousand flashes went off on her.

Aoi walked down the back stage, Akane found her almost immediately and began to strip Aoi. Aoi looked just as lifeless as the rest of the models; she used to have a special glow about her that was unique. Now she was just like the rest of them. Pulling on her boots, Aoi saw Shizuru getting undressed by Yukino. Shizuru cast her a sympathetic look before Aoi was abruptly pushed out onto the runway again. This time she let her hands hang by her sides as she sauntered down the catwalk. As she reached the end of the runway she pulled both her hands up onto her hips and posed seductively. Giving the photographers a second to capture the picture, Aoi whirled around and walked back down.

Just as she show was coming to an end, all the models lined up into a long line and slowly marched down the catwalk in unison. After all the models had cleared the catwalk, Natsuki Kuga the famous designer walked shyly onto the runway with a single pencil tucked behind her ear like an artist. She bowed and waved a hand at all the people who were going crazy for her in the form of a massive crowd.

The after party was an event that Aoi didn't want to attend. She felt far too miserable and didn't have the heart to ward off any admirers. All by herself, Aoi walked around the party aimlessly. Usually Chie would be here to flirt with her, or joke with her. Thinking about Chie brought fresh new tears to her eyes.

"Aoi-san, how are you doing? I heard from Natsuki about what happened. Are you ok?" Shizuru wrapped an arm around Aoi's exposed shoulders.

"Why is everyone being so nice to me? I don't deserve all this sympathy. I'm a monster." Aoi's voice turned into a harsh whisper.

"It's ok Aoi. I understand what happened. You just felt scared. It's ok to feel like that. Don't worry. I'll help you work things out. Ok?"

Aoi hugged Shizuru tightly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I thank god for having such great friends like you and Mai."

"It's my pleasure to help you out. Now come on lets go mingle with some of the guests. Ara, would you look at that. Who is that girl clinging onto my Natsuki's arm?" Said Shizuru in a light voice.

"Come on, lets save your Natsuki from her fans. Hey Shizuru, where's Nao? I didn't see her once today."

"That's because she stayed back. With Chie." Shizuru cast Aoi a solemn look. "Someone needs to look after her after all."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad that it's Nao. She'll take good care of Chie..."

--

Chie lazily peeled one eye open. She was still dressed in her shirt, tie and jeans. And she was lying in an unfamiliar trendy apartment.

"Hey, you're finally up now. Are you feeling better?" Last nights events suddenly rushed back into her memory like a tsunami.

Nao strode into her bedroom dressed in only a pair of pink knickers which were definitely a product of Natsuki's. Chie blushed a deep shade of red and buried her head back into the duvet. Her hair was cutely sticking out in odd angles. Nao climbed up onto her bed and dug her hand into Chie's messy hair. She slowly dragged her hand down Chie's head and straightened out the jet black hair.

"What are you suddenly so shy about? You've seen me naked plenty of times when you used to sneak into the backstage during the shows. Heck, you've seen everyone naked!"

"N-n-nao put something on now!"

"Fine." Nao pulled a top over her head.

Chie hesitantly lifted her head up and off the bed, she gave Nao a sceptical look as the redhead laughed heartily.

"What do you want to do today Chie?" Asked Nao as she applied make up onto her face.

"Nothing. I want to wallow in my self-misery." Replied Chie nonchalantly.

"No way. I gave up going to France for you. You are going to get out of this depressed mood and go out there into the world and have fun. You hear me? But first we're going out for some brunch. I'm starving."

"Whatever." Replied Chie as Nao pushed her into the shower.

"Shower quickly. I've got a fresh set of clothes for you waiting in the guest bedroom. I'll be in the living room waiting. Hurry up."

* * *

End of chapter one.

Second chapter should be up soon.


	2. Secret love

_Thanks for the reviews guys. :D  
Here is the second chapter. _

* * *

Aoi leaned over the railing and looked down at the scenery. A small cry was working its way up her throat. She wanted nothing more than to call Chie. Just to hear her husky, soothing voice. But she couldn't, she feared the cold response she would receive.

Aoi flipped open her mobile to check if she received any missed calls or text messages.  
She didn't know whether she should be disappointed or not when she was greeted by the blank screen. _Looked like no one had missed her._

Aoi gripped the railing and closed her eyes; her mind went back to the day Chie had proposed to her.

_Aoi straddled Chie's lap and tugged Chie's tie with her fingers. She loosened the tie a little, but not enough to free Chie of the suffocating blue silk. Chie grinned and chuckled huskily. The hairs on Aoi's neck stood their ends and she leaned down and kissed Chie's cheek. _

_Aoi sunk her head down on Chie's chest, and felt her heart beat. She sighed blissfully and closed her eyes in content._

_She flinched when she felt icy cold fingertips stroke her exposed shoulders, "Chie, your hands are freezing." Aoi sat up straight and took Chie's cold hands into her own. "Are you cold Chie?" _

"_No." Aoi blinked repeatedly at Chie. "But your whole body is turning blue from the cold. Come, let's go back to my place." Aoi finished her sentence with a slow wink. _

"_It's ok. You're keeping me warm…" Chie's voice took a change in tone - Aoi noticed the difference instantly. "Because… because… you're hot and I'm cold." Chie continued._

"_And we're opposites. Yes, I know Chie – we've talked about this so many times before. Please, let's go home now before you turn ill!" Aoi cut in. _

"…_We want different things." Chie looked up at Aoi, and smiled gently. "And we will always want different things." _

_Aoi grinned down at Chie; she rested her body back down on top of Chie's and her head smoothly came to lie down on her girlfriend's shoulder. She closed her eyes and breathed in Chie's scent. "Apart from one thing. We want each other." Replied Aoi._

"_Yeah, but generally we never agree on anything." Chie erupted into laughter, soon joined by Aoi._

"_But…" Chie continued, "What I'm trying to say is…" Aoi sensed the serious tone in her voice again and sat up straight in Chie's lap again. _

_"Babe, you're hot. And I'm cold." The bespectacled girl gave Aoi a lopsided grin. "We're opposites. We have nothing in common. But I'd like to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me?"_

_In Aoi's opinion everything was perfect. The scene, the setting, the timing, the specific moment she choose to propose. But everything went downhill for her; she wasn't expecting this to happen. She didn't know how to react. Suddenly her small fear of commitment turned into something ugly. _

_Her body reacted uncharacteristically, her heart screamed out yes, but her mind screamed out a thousand other thoughts. She couldn't function right, and that was when Aoi knew she would somehow ruin everything. _

_"C-chie... we... you... No… I-I mean I need to think about it." Aoi was horrified at her reaction. She wanted nothing more than to go back in time and fix up her words properly. But, alas there was nothing she could do to make everything better. Without thinking, she did the worst- she fled._

_--_

Chie counted the amount of times Nao's leg kept bumping into her own. By the time they finished their meal, she had reached the number 6. Normally this wouldn't have affected her, but today it did because no matter how far she kept moving her legs away from Nao's, her legs would eventually brush up against Nao's.

Brunch wasn't particularly fun; in fact it had been somewhat painful. Watching Nao try so hard to take her mind off Aoi made her feel bad and toward the end of their meal Chie had tried to brighten up a little. It hadn't taken long until Aoi's name was mentioned again her and made her heart sink down to the bottom of her stomach.

As Nao left to pay a visit to the ladies room, Chie's mind wandered back to the day she first saw Aoi. _She saw Aoi backstage of the opening of Natsuki's clothing line, "_Azure Sky_". Chie was walking around all the hustle and bustle of the backstage before the start of the show. Natsuki had given her a special VIP tag meaning she had a special place reserved only for Chie in the audience to shoot pictures and had access to the backstage. _

_Chie saw all the make-up artists smoother all the models in make-up, she saw Natsuki and a few other women make some finishing touches to a few of the pieces that were going to be displayed, she saw some... very naked models rush around looking for their underwear or whatnot, but what stood out the most was a tall slender brunette looking very striking. She didn't approach Aoi at first, instead she choose to admire her from a distance. Chie wasn't the type to get muddled up with girls; she was a free soul, nothing in this world could tie her down to earth... well, that was what she thought. _

_A loud, shrill whistle made her concentration on the brunette break and she glanced up and saw a large circle forming around Natsuki._

_"Ok, guys and girls. Do not be nervous. Everything is going according to plan. The backstage crew are great, you're all doing such a good job of keeping this performance in tact, thank you for your help. Ok models, it's up to you now. Just go out there and do whatever you like, there aren't any rules. Fuck rules, we're different. I want you guys to walk down the runway however you feel like. If you want to make it interesting then do whatever you feel like. I trust you guys will put on a good show. Mikoto's band is providing excellent music to accompany the show – brilliant idea Mai, thanks for that. Now models, show them all that our clothing line is unique and remember that you are all representing me and the rest of the crew. Good luck."_

_Everyone erupted into a loud cheer, Chie herself was clapping along with everyone. _

_"Chie!" Natsuki voice boomed._

_Chie jumped out of her skin, "Yeah?"._

_"What are you still doing here? Get out there and start shooting pictures. We're going to start soon!" _

_"Yeah, I'm on my way. Thanks Natsuki by the way."_

_"Don't mention it. I'll see you later. Stick around for the after party, I want you to meet some people." _

_Chie grabbed her heavy camera equipment and rushed out into the audience. The minute she finished setting up her camera at the end of the runway, the show started. Loud heavy rock music filled up the hall, the first model down the catwalk was the model Chie had wanted to see so badly, the brunette she had seen earlier. The brunette casually walked down the catwalk with confidence; her smooth hair was flowing behind her as she glided down the runway and Chie shot as many pictures as she could. When the brunette reached the end of the catwalk, she moved into an alluring pose. Chie almost forgot about her camera. The brunette noticed this and cast Chie a flirtatious look and remained in her position until Chie started to shoot some pictures. _

_One by one, models strutted on and off the catwalk, and after an exciting display of Natsuki's clothes, the show came to an end. _

_The after party was full of life and excitement. Everyone there were having such a great time; even Chie who was new to this kind of scene was having a great time. A few models were talking to her when the sight of the beautiful brunette caught her gaze. The brunette quickly pulled her eyes away from Chie when the latter caught her staring. Chie smiled politely and continued her conversation with the models surrounding her and her attention was focused on the girls standing in front of her but her mind was on the brunette who was spying on her a metre or two away. Chie continued to speak idly with the girls and occasionally they would touch Chie's arm or shoulder. Chie was completely oblivious to their blatant attempts at flirting with her._

_--_

Aoi rolled out onto her back; Chie's smiling, handsome face was printed in her mind.

She wanted to be back at home, wrapped up in Chie's arms. She wanted to feel Chie's fingers stroke her skin like it was the world's finest silk. She wanted to feel Chie's short messy hair tickle the back of her neck. She wanted to feel Chie's warm breath caress her cold ears.

Aoi clung on tight to her pillow and sobbed painfully.

"Please Chie... Forgive me." Whispered Aoi to herself; she only hoped that Chie could hear her from across the other side of the world.

--

Chie swayed on the dance floor, her mind was spinning and all she could see was Nao's face amongst the crowd. Nao was grinning at her, her body moving along with the music alluringly.

The music in the club was blaring and she felt the vibrations thrum through her veins and down her spine.

Chie tried to stand still, but the liquor that she had consumed throughout the night was starting to take its toll on her.

She held her hand out to Nao; the red head gave Chie a worried and confused look before taking Chie's hand into her own. Before she knew it Chie pulled her body close until their bodies bumped together. Nao blinked up at Chie, her green eyes sparkled under the disco lights. "Chie?"

Chie ignored Nao, wrapping her arms around Nao's small waist and moving with the beat of the music. She closed her eyes and let herself relax and soon Nao encircled Chie's neck with her thin arms. Together they danced in a silent mutual understanding.

"Nao," Chie called over the sound of the music. Nao lifted her gaze to meet Chie's. "Thank you. You know I love you so much." Nao sucked in her breath. She looked alarmed. "You're the greatest friend I could ask for. I owe you." _Of course Chie never meant it that way_. Nao wanted to kick herself in the head so badly for raising up her own hopes.

Chie placed a small subtle kiss on Nao's forehead. Nao's heart instantly began to thump erratically. She slowly extracted herself from Chie's secure embrace. She smiled tiredly, "That's what I'm here for. I'm looking after you now."

Nao winked at Chie before disappearing into the large crowd. She ran toward the ladies room and upon arriving there, she locked herself into a cubicle. Her whole body was shaking from the sudden surge of all those mixed emotions.

_She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to hit something._

_But most of all, she wanted Chie… _

Taking out some tissue, she wiped her forehead and neck clear of all the sweat that had built up. Taking in a deep breath, she unlocked the cubicle door and walked out confidently.

Returning to Chie, she tugged Chie's jacket with one hand. It was enough to catch Chie's attention. "Let's go home. You're staying at my apartment. No 'buts' - you're coming with me".

Chie smiled softly. "Yes ma'am." Following Nao's lead they both left the club together.

* * *

Thanks for reading, and if anyone is bothered - please leave a review. :)  
Until next time, bye!


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